While its Toyota-owned rival Lexus continues to leave Infiniti behind on the hybrid front, the Japanese luxury brand will benefit from the electric vehicle prowess of its parent Nissan when it launches its own all-electric model in 2013.

Revealed at the opening of the Infiniti Centre Picadilly in London, this teaser illustration (above) previews what we can expect when the brand's first EV hits showrooms in the coming years.

Infiniti has revealed next-to-nothing about the new model. It's clear from the artwork here however that Nissan has Toyota's Lexus CT 200h hybrid hatch in its sights - the new model clearly based on either a hatch or coupe platform.

The Nissan Leaf electric vehicle may be the basis of the new Infiniti EV.

The Infiniti EV will likely draw power from the Nissan Leaf, its electric motor producing 80kW and 280Nm of torque. The Leaf will achieve a driving range of around 160km per charge and, if it's built on the same platform, the Infiniti version will likely manage around the same.

Infiniti also revealed earlier this year that it would look to develop a rival to the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series, with Senior Vice President Andy Palmer describing the idea as "a probability, not a possibility."

"We don't necessarily want to follow the Lexus hybrid model, but we do want a rival for the 1-Series and Audi A3," Palmer said.

In either full-electric, hybrid or conventionally-powered platforms, the artwork shown here suggests Infiniti is drawing closer to having its A3 rival.

Nissan has not said when it will reveal the new Infiniti electric vehicle, but with the release of this teaser artwork falling so close to the Paris Auto Show later this month, a French debut (also the homeland of Nissan's partner Renault) may not be out of the question.

Australia

The battle to bring Infiniti back to Australia rages on, with Nissan's local arm confirming to TMR earlier this year that Infiniti will return - it is simply a matter of when.

And unlike its last foray into the Australian market, Nissan will relaunch Infiniti as a standalone brand with its own dealerships - just like Lexus - rather than using the existing Nissan dealer network and showrooms.